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Heads Up: 6 must-see concerts this week

Hiatus Kaiyote, Yassou Benedict, Elvis Christ with Pookie and the Poodlez, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine -- this week’s must-sees are a mouthful. A salty, appetizing taste of old school punk, the young and shoegazy, Australian future soul-makers, and more. There’s also locals Wild Moth, and the reliably bubbly J-POP Summit, which includes a performance by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.

Not listed below, but there’s also a mid-‘90s nostalgia wave hitting our shores this week, with Courtney Love’s sold-out Independent show and Weezer at the America’s Cup Pavilion (both Thu/25) -- tickets to the latter are $47.50.

Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:

Wild Moth"To understand SF's Wild Moth, it's much easier to describe what it's not. The band's fuzzy, electric guitar styling is wild, but not sloppy. Wild Moth's EP Mourning Glow isn't long, it's also not lacking in kick. Distorted guitar and rough vocals have never been so appealing. The group's big bang is its general lackluster attitude juxtaposed with its tight percussion and surged guitar licks. It's all about the raw emotional energy that often accompanies its tunes. Wild Moth very much leaves it up to the listener — are you there to hear about the black void of blind compliance, or to feel it?” -- Hillary SmithWith Speedy OrtizThu/25, 9pm, $10Bottom of the Hill1233 17th St., SFwww.bottomofthehill.com

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of MedicineJello Biafra could be your theatrical political science professor. The still-charismatic frontperson has long spewed knowledge deep from the underbelly of political theater, from his influential early 1980s Bay Area punk band Dead Kennedys, and projects like the band Lard, through his nine dense spoken word albums, and up to his newest musical endeavor, louder than ever in his 50s, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. That band, which also includes Victims Family guitarist Ralph Spight, plays the Uptown this weekend with D.I., the Divvys, and Gir-illa Biscuits — an excellent local Gorilla Biscuits tribute act. Fri/26, 9pm, $15Uptown1928 Telegraph, Oakl.www.uptownnightclub.com

Yassou Benedict The shoegazing dreampop group of 20-somethings Yassou Benedict recently released its debut EP, In Fits in Dreams, a moody, complex, emotionally fraught record that leaves the listener itching for a full-length, and touches on themes of "anxiety, and wanting to be weightless, the desire to run through wide open spaces." The album release party was actually a few weeks back, but you can catch the band this week at Milk Bar. With Beautiful Machines, Hotel Eden, NVO Fri/26, 8:30pm, $10Milk Bar1840 Haight, SFwww.milksf.com

J-POP Summit Festival“The theme of the fifth annual J-POP Summit Festival is "Making Kawaii Universal" — which seems a certainty. What warm-blooded, sweet-tooth-having human could resist this two-day explosion of film, art, fashion, pop culture, and pop stars, chiefly feather-bedecked glamour girl Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, "Japan's Official Ambassador of Kawaii"? (For those not in the know, "Kawaii" = "cute," and its influence goes way beyond whatever Gwen Stefani co-opted and repackaged for the American masses a few years back.) She'll be performing live (along with other acts, including a human beat box); other J-POP attractions include a film festival (with a hefty anime component), a Harajuku fashion show, live art events, sake tasting, a dance contest, and a whole lot more.” -- Cheryl EddySat/27-Sun/28, 11am-6pm, prices varyJapantown (near Geary and Webster), SFwww.j-pop.com

Elvis Christ, Pookie and the Poodlez“Looking at the bands' names on this lineup is enough to make your head spin. From quirky to downright dumb, it won't matter much because the performance will prove they all take playing live seriously. Elvis Christ may sound familiar if not for his new cassette on Burger Records, then for recording troves of trash rockers including Nobunny and Pookie and the Poodlez (also on the bill). Be sure to catch Yogurt Brain, an earnest act with a solid songwriter (though he does have an affinity for covering Springsteen and Gram Parsons songs). Expect some country-punk style shredding (fingerpicks and all) on guitar and if you're lucky he may even do the kick splits on stage!” -- Andre TorrezWith Yogurt BrainSat/27, 8pm, $5Eli's Mile High Club3629 Martin Luther King Jr., Oakl.(510) 350-7818.www.elismilehigh.com